How often do Orthodox people, picking up a finished prayer book, wonder who wrote this little book? Who invented the prayers themselves? Why are these prayers included in the "morning", and others are designated as "evening" or "for all needs"? And why do some prayers have authors, while others do not? And who is he, the holy Great Macarius, whose prayers are read daily by thousands of Orthodox Christians?
Memorial Day
February 1 (January 19 according to the old style) in Orthodox churches the name of the Holy Great Makarios is glorified. All men whose name is Makar can celebrate their name day. And although according to the Orthodox tradition the saint’s day is celebrated not on his birthday, but on the day of his repose before the Lord or on the day of his canonization, one should not take it negatively. Death for a truly believing person is just a transition from temporary life to eternal life next to the Lord and all the saints who have earned bliss in eternal life. Leading a Christian life and fulfilling all the commandments that the Lord gave to people with love, people are not afraid of meeting God after death. The soul is afraid of death, knowing that unthinkable torment awaits her there. At the same time, even such a great saint as Macarius did not consider himself worthy of the kingdom of heaven. His humility was so deep that, even while dying, he was afraid to succumb to the masters and not pass the test. However, everything is in order.
The miracle of the birth of a saint
The life of St. Macarius the Great began with a real miracle. His parents lived in Egypt, bore the names of ancient saints - Abraham and Sarah. Father Macarius was a presbyter. The very atmosphere in the house was originally filled with deep faith. For many years their marriage remained barren. Having decided that it was so pleasing to the Lord, the couple began to live chastely, but did not want to leave. For many years their cohabitation was spiritual. Their life consisted of good deeds, prayers, fasting and worship of the Lord.
However, barbarians attacked the village where they lived. Robbery and violence, unprecedented until that time by the parents of Macarius, shocked them so much that they wanted to leave Egypt. But Abraham in a dream appeared his forefather. The ancient holy Patriarch Abraham looked like an old man in dazzling white robes, with gray hair and a beard. He consoled and told the future father of Macarius that he should not leave Egypt. We need to move to the village of Ptinapor, which was also in Egypt. In addition, the Patriarch promised the presbyter that the Lord would bless his life with the birth of a son, despite the old age of his parents. After all, once upon a time, the Patriarch himself became a father, being a deep old man, like his elderly wife Sarah. Waking up, Abraham told this dream to his Sarah. They trusted the signs of God so much that they did not doubt at all that the dream was prophetic. They offered a prayer to the Lord, moved to Ptinapor and began to live there as spouses.
Suddenly, Abraham became so sick that he fell down and could not even move. Everyone was waiting for his imminent death. But one night he again had a dream in which the Angel of the Lord himself, coming out of the altar, told him to stand up, since he would soon have a son. This child will become a vessel of divine grace and live his life like an angel. Soon they had a son, whom they called Macarius, which meant "blessed." Thus the miracle of the birth of the Great Saint happened, which was predicted in a dream to his father by the Holy Patriarch Abraham with the Angel of the Lord. It happened about 300 years.
Divine predestination
It is impossible to imagine that holiness comes to man on its own. So for Makarius the Lord created all the conditions. It is no coincidence that the village of Ptinapor was chosen by God for the place of resettlement of the parents of St. Macarius. It was next to the Nithrian desert. This circumstance helped Macarius to love the desert life.
From childhood, Macarius was distinguished by meekness, humility and obedience to his parents. Shortly after entering adolescence, the boy became interested in studying the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Great Macarius only in one tried to defend his opinion: his parents persuaded him to marry, but he asked them not to deprive him of the opportunity to devote himself to a pure spiritual virgin life. The perseverance with which his parents wanted to marry him, in the end, paid off. Mindful of the commandment to love and honor his parents, St. Macarius succumbed to their persuasion. However, at first he asked the Lord to arrange so that this marriage did not interfere with his true destiny.
After the wedding feast, the saint had to deceive and pretend to be sick, so as not to break the vow of virginity, which he gave to the Lord in his heart. Soon, one of his relatives was about to go to the desert for nitrate and invited Makariya with him. His parents insisted that he go. When the travelers came to the Mount of Nithria, they went to rest. In a dream, a husband in brilliant robes appeared to Makarius and showed him the beauty of the desert, urging him to leave the world and retire to it for further service to the Lord. This very vision led him into bewilderment, since in those days nothing was known about the hermits. And his conjugal and filial duty did not allow him to manage his life like that. However, having come home, he found his wife at death. Thanks to him, she went into the world with another untouched virgin, which gave her many chances for salvation.
And yet, her death greatly influenced the saint. For himself, he decided to remember that his life would someday end, and he would have to hold the answer for his earthly life. He became even more inspired by his love for a chaste life, began to spend all his free time in the temple, and constantly read the Holy Scriptures. Soon his parents died, as they were already very old people. During their illnesses before his death, Saint Macarius faithfully courted them, without complaining and cursing his fate. By burying his parents, he finally could fulfill the purpose given to him by the Lord himself - like Anthony the Great, retire to the wilderness for monastic life.
Fateful meeting
But Saint Macarius did not immediately decide on such a step. At first, he long lamented that he did not have any of those close to him on this earth with whom he could consult, discuss his future life, and tell about his future plans.
However, he trusted in the Lord and continued the traditions of his parents, who, in the days of the commemoration of the saints, held a feast to feed the poor and wanderers. On such a day, St. Macarius prepared dinner and went to the temple. There, during the service, he saw a monk who lived in the desert near the village of Ptinapor. No one had ever seen him, since the hermit himself avoided the world. However, on this day, by Divine Providence, he came to the same temple as St. Macarius.
The view of the hermit very struck the saint. Despite the long fasting and harsh desert conditions that made his face dry and dark, his whole appearance glowed with inner splendor. The saint went to the old man and asked him to come to his feast. The elder agreed. After eating the meal, St. Macarius again approached the old man and asked him to take him to visit him the next day. The elder willingly agreed, fulfilling the will of the Lord.
First teachings
The next day, St. Macarius came to the old man and asked him to become his teacher. The elder told Macarius all day about the difficulties of living alone in the desert. At night, when St. Macarius fell asleep, the old man began to earnestly pray that the Lord would show him his destiny in the life of this young man. Soon a dream of monks appeared to him, who called the sleeping Makarios to stand up and replenish their ranks to serve the Lord. He told this dream in the morning to St. Macarius, urging him not to hesitate with the decision to leave the world for the service of God.
First Steps to Holy Service
The life of St. Macarius the Great shows how the rejection of worldly fuss begins. First of all, the saint got rid of all the property that his parents left him. He distributed it to the poor and needy, thereby breaking the strongest ties with the world, which he himself considered a heavy burden. Leaving nothing to himself, even the most necessary, he seemed to re-enter this life, not tied to it by the possession of things.
The beginning of monasticism
The Holy Great Macarius again came to the old man he knew and humbly asked him to become a mentor to him. The elder, seeing the young man’s desire to begin service sooner, began to teach him the basics of monasticism - prayers, silence, needlework, which would help to acquire the necessary amount of food for the desert man, as well as for lonely service. Soon he moved St. Macarius to the cave, which he dug specially for him. From that time on, St. Macarius became a hermit who served the Lord with his humble life. To get his food, he weaved baskets. For a small fee, they were bought by residents of nearby villages. Soon the fame of the holy hermit began to reach the heads of the local church.
Refusal of clerical ministry
The bishop of the local church was very surprised to learn that a humble hermit appeared in the wilderness and leads a pious life. He called on St. Macarius, spoke with him, and appointed him clergy in the parish of Ptinapor. St. Macarius referred to his youth - at that time he was forty years old. However, the bishop decided that youth for him could not be an obstacle and put him in the post of his own free will.
This violated the already established way of life of St. Macarius. He had to flee and settle in a desert near another village. Here, one of the local residents came to his service, who began to serve the saint by selling his baskets and buying the necessary food for the hermit.
Temptations of the saint
Monastic life seems to the laity simple and measured. Fasting, prayer and work are the rest according to the will of the Lord. However, it is the monks who are most tempted by demons. The life of St. Macarius the Great contains many facts that speak of how often and strongly the saint was tempted by the enemy of the human race - the Devil. He defeated the saint with sinful thoughts and swearing speech, frightened the monsters that appeared to him in the midst of prayer. At night vigils, he shook his cell or crawled a poisonous snake to distract the saint from prayer. But the monk, remembering the protection of the Lord, protected himself with a cross and prayer, against which the Devil himself was powerless.
Slander against the saint
In the nearest village lived a young man and a girl who loved each other. It was them who were chosen by the Devil as their instrument. The girl's parents were against their marriage, since the boy was poor. But soon their daughter was pregnant. Taught by the Devil and her lover, she blamed all the blame on St. Macarius, introducing him as a rapist. People in the village beat the saint, cursing him. The man who served him begged people not to touch the saint, but they did not listen to him. Soon St. Macarius was close to death, only then he was left. The man who served him transferred him to his cell and looked after him.
As soon as the saint regained consciousness, he began to work hard to feed the disgraced girl and her unborn child. When the time came for her to give birth, the Lord punished her. She spent several days in terrible pain and torment until she confessed that she had slandered the innocent. People wanted to ask him for forgiveness, but the saint, not wanting worldly glory, retired to other places.
Great Macarius - student of Great Anthony
In tales of saints, the Great Macarius always follows his own path, which the Lord had appointed to him before birth. For three years he lived in seclusion in a cave of the Nithrian mountain, then went to Anthony the Great to study his desert life with him. The great Anthony gladly accepted the new student and shared with him all his knowledge. For a long time they were inaugurated together, but soon the saint the Great Macarius again left for a secluded place, where he continued his invisible war with demons.
Once in the desert, St. Macarius found the skull of a pagan priest who told him what terrible torment those who died unbaptized suffer because they did not know Jesus. But those who know Him and have denied suffer even more.
It was there that his prayers were born, which still protect us from demons, constantly attacking Orthodox Christians with temptations. While reading these prayers, hardly anyone remembers that they were composed by a saint whom the Devil himself admitted that his humility does not allow him to break his spirit.
The end of the great journey
The Holy Great Macarius died at the age of 97. Thanks to the constant vigil, his life became an example for many Christians how to be saved by humility. His very death is not just a transition to another world, but the story of the victory over many demons who cried and moaned, letting his imperishable soul with angels to the Lord. All temptations and intrigues against the saint were smashed against his faith and humility! The greatness of the saint continued to grow as people were saved thanks to his holy prayers. Also, over time, prayers appeared that people offer to the saint himself, asking for his intercession before the Lord.
Holy prayers
What do they pray to St. Macarius the Great? Throughout the Christian world, he is revered as a saint, helping in all possible problems and circumstances - bodily and spiritual. Often they call him to help with the raging of relatives, since during his lifetime he repeatedly fought with the Devil and always came out to winners. But in ordinary everyday problems, St. Macarius the Great will come to the aid with sincere prayer. It contains very true words. The morning prayer of St. Macarius the Great is small in volume. She is also quickly remembered.
Prayer 1, St. Macarius the Great
God, cleanse me from the sinful, for I have done good in the sight of thee; but deliver me from the evil one, and Thy will be done in me, condemn my mouth unworthily and praise Your holy name, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.
Translation: God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have never done good before Thee; deliver me from the evil, treacherous (the name of the devil in the Church Slavonic way), and may Thy will be in me; let me openly (with impunity) open my unworthy lips and praise Your holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
In Orthodox prayer books in the section "Morning Prayers" she is designated as "Prayer of the 1st St. Macarius the Great." There are four of them in the morning block. The prayer of the 5th Saint Macarius the Great was transferred to the block of prayers “Evening”. Her text is very suitable for an evening home confession.
Since people often turn to the saint with their needs, there are prayers to St. Macarius the Great for various needs. Most frequently read prayer:
O Rev. Father Macarius! We pray that you, unworthy ones, ask by your intercession from the All-Merciful God of our health for our soul and body, quiet and pious life and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. Extinguish with your prayers the arrows of the devil, kindled by God’s servants (names), that sinful evil will not touch us, that we will piously end the temporary life, we will be able to inherit the kingdom of heaven, and be glorified with you to glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Image of a saint
Before the Great October Revolution, this saint was revered in Russia. But in recent years he has often been ignored, forgetting that the enemy of the human race himself has admitted defeat to him:
“Macarius! Because of you, I suffer great sorrow, because I am not able to defeat you. Here I am, everything that you do, I do. You fast - I do not eat anything at all; you are awake - and I never sleep. One thing, however, is where you are superior to me. This is humility. That is why I cannot fight you. ”
Unfortunately, not every church has an icon of St. Macarius the Great.